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Israel Antiquities Authority

“Theodotus built the synagogue for the reading of the law [Torah]” reads part of this first-century C.E. inscription, in Greek, discovered just south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. According to the inscription, Theodotus’s synagogue contained rooms for itinerants and water installations for bathing. Standing in sight of the Temple Mount, this Jerusalem synagogue was a place where Jews assembled to study Scripture. Theodotus’s synagogue apparently also gave shelter to pilgrims, who may have purified themselves in its pools before ascending to the Temple.